Missiles
This is about your offensive weapons. For defensive missles, see counter-missiles. Missiles are the primary method of dealing damage to the enemy and their systems during combat. Acquiring missiles You can acquire missiles in two ways: * they can be purchased from stations around the sector * they can be acquired from loot Note 1: you start the game with some NX-2 Nukes and Laser Disruptors Note 2: you always have an unlimited amount of Hull Penetrators, which cannot be bought or looted Note 3: you cannot sell missiles Note 4: you have unlimited storage space for missiles Types of Missiles Each Missile has a particular function and damage type. Below are a listing of each missile type and its primary function * Hull Penetrator: Causes damage only to the ship’s hull. * Laser Disruptor: Weakens or disables enemy laser defenses, and more resistant to being shot down by Lasers. * NX-2 Nuke: Extra damage against the ship's hull. * Maverick: weakens or disables enemy CM defenses, and more resistant to being shot down by Counter Missiles. * Mk 13 BPL (Bomb Pumped Laser): Deals damage to all systems at the same time. * M-14 Hellfire: Weakens or disables enemy Weapons. * EMP Pulsor: Weakens or disables enemy ECM defenses, and more resistant to being blocked by ECM. * M-1 Antimatter: Ignores sidewalls, takes them down and disables enemy Sidewall regeneration System Penetration components exist for your weapons and each of the four defensive systems. With these components equipped, any weapon, even Hull Penetrators, will cause damage to these systems. However, they do not cause as much damage as the specialized missiles, and they do not provide your missiles any extra resistance against the defenses. There is also a randomly available Tactical Advantage called “Increase System Damage”, which has a similar effect. This bonus and the BPL are the only ways to damage the opponent’s Bridge and therefore the "roll ship" capability. Note: missile drops seem to be related to rarity. Laser Disruptors seem to be most common, followed by Mavericks and M-1 Antimatters, then M-14 Hellfires, NX-2 Nukes, EMP Pulsars and finally Mk 13 BPL. Missile Cost Strategy tip With enough farming, you should never have to buy any missiles, with the exception of perhapse the Nukes and BPL missiles In combat, it is often best to use the missile corresponding to the enemy's most powerful defense. For example, lasers cannot shoot down as many Laser Disruptors, which will then weaken or temporarily disable the enemy's laser defenses. However, they are still vulnerable to ECM and CM. At least a few of your missiles will be destroyed in flight by enemy defenses. Active defensive systems will target the most threatening missiles within their targeting envelope, with BLPs and Hellfires as the highest priority. Sidewalls block the first missiles that hit them. If your specialized missiles are in short supply, then to avoid wasting missiles, space your salvos out and use some hull penetrators. The enemy will not wait long for a more threatening missile to enter its targeting envelope before activating a defense, so you can trick it into wasting defensive fire on hull penetrators while your Hellfires, Nukes or BLPs follow close behind. This may take some practice though, as some missiles fly faster than others: your Hellfires may overtake the "decoy" salvo of hull penetrators if you don't allow sufficient time between launches. If the enemy fires more missiles than you can effectively defend against, it may be better to weaken their weapons with Hellfires before workin on their defenses or hulls. System penetratos are always a good idea.